Subsidy: Fuel sells N600/litre, queues worsen as filling stations shut (Punch)
Less than 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu declared an end to fuel subsidy, the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit commonly known as petrol has skyrocketed to N600 per litre from N195/l in many parts of the country.
The development equally triggered a 100 per cent hike in transport fares, while long queues resurfaced at fuel stations across Lagos, Abuja, Ilorin, Benin, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Kano, Makurdi and other major cities and urban areas.
To worsen the situation, many outlets shut down their facilities and refused to dispense fuel to motorists, further creating scarcity and sparking desperation and panic buying at the fuel stations that were opened to customers. Read more
Petrol subsidy removal not immediate — Presidency Source (Vanguard)
The removal of petrol subsidy will no longer be immediate, Vanguard gathered authoritatively last night.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had said in his inauguration speech Monday that the subsidy was gone, as it was not provided for in the 2023 budget.
But sources told Vanguard yesterday that implementation of the removal of subsidy would commence post-June.
The need to clarify issues, sources told Vanguard, informed the meeting the President had with the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr. Mele Kyari, in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. Read more
Tinubu orders DSS to vacate EFCC Lagos office immediately (Guardian)
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos, immediately.
Tinubu on Tuesday evening said if there were issues between the “two important agencies of government”, they would be resolved amicably.
The President said this, according to a statement by the State House.
Man gets life sentence for defiling 8-year-old daughter (Channels)
The Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court has sentenced a 42-year-old man, Sulaiman Usman, to life imprisonment for defiling his eight-year-old daughter.
Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced Usman to life imprisonment after finding him guilty as charged.
In October 2019, the Lagos State Government had arraigned Usman before Justice Sybil Nwaka but following her elevation to the Court of Appeal, the case was reassigned to Justice Oshodi. Read more
Heavy rainfall worsens Lagos gridlock (Punch)
On Tuesday, residents of Lagos and Ogun had to endure terrible traffic jams caused by both heavy rain and shortages in fuel, consequently creating long lines of cars waiting at fuel stations.
Many commuters had difficulty getting to their offices and business places, as transporters hike fares between 50-100 per cent.
The situation was further worsened by the heavy downpours in different parts of Lagos and Ogun States, which resulted in flooding in some areas. Read more
Violence: ‘‘Auxiliary’’ escapes, 1 killed as police parade 78 suspected PMS members in Oyo (Vanguard)
No fewer than 78 suspected members of Oyo State Park Management System, PMS, have been arrested by the state Police Command over violence.
Items recovered from the suspects during the arrest include guns, 724 live cartridges, 25 cutlasses, seven jack knives, 33 mobile phones, one laptop, charms, two vehicles and over N3 million cash.
It will be recalled that Governor Seyi Makinde on Monday, through his Chief of Staff, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi, announced the dissolution of PMS, headed by a former NURTW boss, Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, popularly called Auxiliary. Read more
Gov Otti freezes state bank accounts, dissolves boards (DailyTrust)
Gov. Alex Otti of Abia has directed the immediate freezing of all the State Government accounts and those of agencies domiciled in banks and other financial institutions in the country.
Otti’s directive is contained in a statement issued in Umuahia on Tuesday by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma.
Ekeoma stated that with the notice, “all banks and other financial institutions in the country are directed to immediately cease from honouring any cheques, documents, instruments or directives of any kind not expressly approved by or emanating from him”. Read more
PEPC: Obi, LP, Atiku, PDP tender documents in defence of petitions (Sun)
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has admitted in evidence, documents tendered by the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi in defence of his petition against President Bola Tinubu.
The documents which were tendered through the petitioner’s first witness, Mr. Lawrence Nwakaeti, included a United States District Court judgment.
The judgment reportedly indicted Tinubu and ordered his forfeiture of $460,000 in a drug related offence. Read more
Cardi B honors the late Takeoff after accused gunman’s indictment (People)
Cardi B is remembering her friend Takeoff over six months after his tragic death.
The “Up” musician, 30, shared a heartfelt tribute for her collaborator on Friday, shortly after his alleged shooter Patrick Xavier Clark, was formally indicted on murder charges by a Texas grand jury.
“Protect your brothers and your family,” Cardi wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a photo of the Migos member, per Rolling Stone. Read more
Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence (BBC)
Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has reported to the federal prison where she will serve an 11-year sentence.
Holmes, 39, was convicted early last year on four counts of fraud linked to her failed blood testing start-up.
In mid-May, a court rejected her request to remain free on bail while a challenge to the original conviction was considered. Read more
Al Pacino’s girlfriend 8 months pregnant (TMZ)
Al Pacino is expecting a child with girlfriend Noor Alfallah, who is eight months pregnant.
The Oscar-winning actor, 82, and Alfallah, 29, are expecting their first child together, the actor’s rep confirmed to TMZ Tuesday.
Pacino and Alfallah have been romantically linked since April 2022. They were seen with one another last month at the upscale Los Angeles eatery E Baldi. Read more
Britain’s Got Talent updates fans after Ant McPartlin falls live on TV (Standard)
Britain’s Got Talent have reassured viewers that Ant McPartlin is doing OK after he fell during the live semi-finals on Monday night.
Fans of the ITV show watched as the 47-year-old slipped and fell to the ground in front of judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli as he rushed to join Diversity on stage.
His co-host Dec Donnelly asked if he was alright following his slip, to which McPartlin comically responded: “I wet myself and farted at the same time!” Read more
Foo Fighters say emotional goodbyes on epic 10-minute track ”The Teacher” (PlanetRadio)
Foo Fighters have premiered the fourth taster of their new studio album ‘But Here We Are’, the 10-minute epic ‘The Teacher.’
The longest track Foo Fighters have ever recorded, ‘The Teacher’ is a slow building and multi-layered musical tour-de-force that showcases a more experimental side of the band.
Just like previous songs ‘Rescued’, ‘Under You’ and ‘Show Me How’, ‘The Teacher’ comes complete with powerful lyrics that apparently reference the passing of Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl’s mum Virginia in 2022. Read more
Beluga whale, once a suspected Russian spy, appears off Swedish coast (TimesOfIsrael)
Norwegian authorities said Tuesday that a beluga whale, which was first spotted in Arctic Norway four years ago with an apparent Russian-made harness and alleged to have come from a Russian military facility, has been seen off Sweden’s coast nearly 2,000 kilometers (around 1,250 miles) to the south.
“During the last few weeks, it has moved quickly and swam several hundred kilometers” before reaching waters off Sweden’s west coast, Olav Lekve of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said.
He said it has been reported off Lysekill, which sits north of Goteborg, Sweden’s second-largest city. There was no immediate comment from Swedish authorities. Read more
Artificial Intelligence may lead humanity to extinction, industry leaders warn (France24)
Top artificial intelligence (AI) executives including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday joined experts and professors in raising the “risk of extinction from AI”, which they urged policymakers to equate at par with risks posed by pandemics and nuclear war.
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” more than 350 signatories wrote in a letter published by the nonprofit Center for AI Safety (CAIS).
As well as Altman, they included the CEOs of AI firms DeepMind and Anthropic, and executives from Microsoft MSFT.O and Google GOOGL.O. Read more
Falcons may face Ghana, Cameroon in Olympic qualifiers (Punch)
The road to next year’s Women’s Olympic Football Tournament for nine-time African champions Nigeria is haunted by Ghana and Cameroon, following the draw conducted in Cairo on Tuesday afternoon.
After a probable meeting with Ethiopia in the second round of the campaign in October this year, the Falcons will have to confront the winners of the ties Uganda/Rwanda and Cameroon.
Once they cross the Cameroonian hurdle, the Nigerian girls will be up against the winners of the Guinea Bissau/Benin Republic against Guinea/Ghana. Read more
New Chelsea boss Pochettino ‘does not want’ Joao Felix (Vanguard)
Joao Felix might not be a Chelsea player next season, according to Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo.
Cerezon confirmed that incoming Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino had chosen not to keep the 23-year-old winger.
The forward, who joined Chelsea on loan in January, scored four goals in 20 appearances for the club. Read more
Pep Guardiola and Emma Hayes scoop top honours at LMA awards after title successes (Standard)
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been named as the League Managers Association’s (LMA) Manager of the Year.
Guardiola, who has guided City to a third straight Premier League title and is now hunting the Treble, has won the Sir Alex Ferguson trophy for a third time and was also named Premier League Manager of the Year.
City face Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday and Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on June 10. Read more
Manchester United striker Anthony Martial ruled out of FA Cup final through injury (MEN)
Anthony Martial has been ruled out of the FA Cup final with a hamstring injury. The Manchester United forward has missed 32 matches this season through a number of different setbacks.
His latest issue was picked up in the latter stages of United’s 2-1 final day win over Fulham on Sunday. The Frenchman strained his hamstring with later assessments showing a tear in the muscle.
The striker has played 29 times this season but has failed to see out a full 90 minutes. United are after a new striker this summer and the club are open to allowing Martial to leave with exits needed to facilitate arrivals. Read more
French Open 2023 results: Daniil Medvedev beaten in 1st round by Thiago Seyboth Wild (BBC)
Second seed Daniil Medvedev was stunned by qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild in a big French Open first-round shock.
The Russian battled windy conditions, “a mouthful of clay” and the Brazilian’s outstanding forehand in a 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-4 loss.
Medvedev had arrived at Roland Garros in good form and in contention for the world number one ranking. Read more
Quiet man Jokic ready for crowning glory in NBA Finals (France24)
Nikola Jokic can cap an improbable journey to the pinnacle of his sport by leading the Denver Nuggets to a first ever championship when the NBA Finals get under way on Thursday.
Nine years ago, the softly spoken Serbian center barely caused a murmur of attention when the Nuggets chose him with the 41st overall pick in the draft.
That selection was so low-key that it was not even broadcast live; instead, viewers watching the NBA draft were shown a commercial for a popular fast-food chain. Read more